Beatnik Rutabagas from Beyond the Stars

Walter Nutria, bored with high school in East Weston, is only too happy to enter the spaceship that descends from the sky one afternoon. Once inside, he learns he has been specifically sought out by the Lirgonians, a race of aliens who look like middle-aged men in footie pajamas, to act as their commander in their long-enduring feud with the Wotwots, who look like rutabagas with goatees and tentacles. Why Walter? Because of his meritorious sci-fi video rental record. But the Wotwots had the same idea and have recruited his friend Yselle Meridien, who has lately been renting on Walter's card, as their commander. Once the battle begins, things go absolutely haywire, and the two enemy races find themselves having to team up in search of their spaceships when they're stolen by the elusive Space Mice from Galaxy Four.

The jokes come fast and furious in this clever novel, which will have appeal for both devotees of the science-fiction genre and those with only a casual interest in distant planets and giant talking thumbs.

Used availability for Quentin Dodd's Beatnik Rutabagas from Beyond the Stars